Singing with Ian C.

Hello! My name is Ian, and whether you're young, old, a novice or an aspiring professional, I can't wait to work together to help you hone your craft and achieve your creative goals. I've been singing for as long as I can remember, and playing the guitar since I was 11 years old. I studied music and theatre at Salem State University, where I earned a B.A. in performance in 2004, in addition to having studied guitar privately with a number of teachers over the years. For the last decade+ I've mainly been working in the world of theatre as a freelance pit-musician (guitar, bass and mandolin), music director and occasional actor in and around the greater Boston and Providence areas. Additionally, over the past 5 years I've been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work extensively with children and adults with moderate to severe special needs. I first began learning about the subject as a Music Director for children's theatre, then as a one-on-one aid in a specialized classroom for middle school students with severe and profound autism. From there I moved on to a similar but much more intensive position in a private, year-round school designed especially for students whose autism was severe enough to prevent them from attending public school. While working there, I made a connection with the adaptive music program that would come into the school, and now I teach for them during the day, running adaptive music classes for students and adults with autism, as well as adults who have suffered traumatic brain injury. I love teaching, and I try to make my lessons fun, engaging and personally tailored to help each student achieve their unique goals. I've worked with individuals of all ages, ability levels and walks of life, and I put a real emphasis on developing my students' creativity, not JUST their technique. I love teaching beginners and helping them navigate their way through what can be a very intimidating subject at first, and I also really enjoy the challenge of helping more experienced students as they seek to deepen their ability for self-expression.